WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  IP/C/W/426/Add.5/Suppl.1 
4 March 2005 
 
 (05-0954) 
Council for Trade-Related Aspects 
of Intellectual Property Rights Original:   English 
 
 
 
TECHNICAL COOPERATION ACTIVITIES: 
INFORMATION FROM MEMBERS 
  
EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES  
  
Supplement  
  
  
The following communication, dated 15 October 2004, is being circulated at the request of 
the Delegation of the European Communities.  It was circulated as an advance copy for the Council's 
meeting on 1-2 December 2004. 
  
  
_______________ 
  IP/C/W/426/Add.5/Suppl.1 
Page 2  
COOPERATION WITH DEVELOPING COUNTRIES AND COUNTRIES IN TRANSITION1 
YEAR 2002 
   
Beneficiary  Title and Date of the Event  Organizing Agency  Description  
All candidate countries2 Euroforum Trademarks, 6-7 May 2002, 
Prague European 
Commission (EC) and OHIM  This event consisted of 12 mini seminars dedicated to various 
Trademark ™  and Community Trademark (CTM) related matters. 
  Workshop, 23-24 September 2002 Alicante  OHIM Work shop on Relative Grounds for refusal and Opposition 
procedure. 
  3rd Annual Heads meeting, 2 October 2002, 
Alicante  OHIM Final meeting between OHIM and the heads of the national offices 
of the candidate countries to discuss legal aspects of the 
enlargement process as well as the cooperation activities 
undertaken in 2002. 
  Liaison meeting, 13-14 March, Alicante  OHIM Procedure and Practice.  
  Liaison meeting, 13-14 June, Alicante   OHI M Information Technology and  Information. 
  Liaison meeting, 23-24 September, Alicante   OHIM Registered Community Design (RCD). 
Brazil  Seminar, 12 June, Rio de Ja neiro Brazilian Association 
of IP agents (ABAPI) CTM system. 
  Seminar, 13 June , Sao Pa olo Brazilian Association 
of IP agents (ABAPI) CTM system. 
  Workshop, 17 June, Rio de Janeiro Br azilian IP Office Opposition procedure. 
Chile  International meeting,  11-19 April 2002, 
Santiago  WIPO Workshop on classification. 
Estonia  Seminar, 18 November, Tallinn  OHIM Seminar on TM practice for  private sector and chambers of 
commerce. 
Hungary  Seminar, 15-16 April, Budapest Hungarian Office Semina r on CTM practice and Absolu te and Relative Grounds for 
refusal. 
Hungary  Seminar, 12-13 November, Miskolc OHIM How to protect  your Trademark in the EU (private sector).  
Overview of the CTM system  for University students. 
Korea  3rd Trademark examiners meeting, 
22-23 April, Alicante  OHIM Discussion of Examination and Opposition matters. 
  Dissemination seminar, 12 September Seoul Korean IP Institute  Seminar focusing on the CTM and RCD systems in which more 
than 200 Trademark attorneys, lawyers and students from the 
                                                      
1 DAC List of Aid Recipients (OECD) 
2 Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovak Republic, Slovenia and T urkey   IP/C/W/426/Add.5/Suppl.1
 Page 3Beneficiary  Title and Date of the Event  Organizing Agency  Description  
private sector attended. 
Latvia  Seminar, 20 November, Riga OHIM Seminar on TM pr actice for the private sector and Chambers of 
Commerce. 
Lithuania  Seminar, 22 November, Vilnius  OHIM Seminar on TM practice for the private sector and Chambers of 
Commerce. 
Malta  Seminar, 6-7 November, Valletta OHIM Introduction to the CTM system. 
Mexico  Seminar, 13-15 March, Alicante OHIM Trad emark Administration and OHIM activities. 
  Seminar, 8 April, Mexico City OHIM CTM system. 
  Meeting, 10 April, Mexico City OHIM Cooperation programme OHIM and IMPI. 
  Seminar, 11 April, Merida (Mexico) OHIM  CTM system. 
  Workshop, 22-26 April, Alicante OHIM Workshop on Three-dimensional Trademarks and practice criteria 
(Nice classification). 
  Roundtable discussion, 20-22 May, 
Mexico City OHIM Examination of absolute grounds for refusal, Use of Trademarks 
(distinctiveness, proof of use) and Domain names (internet). 
  Study visit, 10-18 June, Alicante OHIM Training CTM system and OHIM's activities.  
  Expert mission, 1-3 July, Mexico City OHIM  Superv isory visit of an OHIM expert to the IMPI for the 
implementation of their Trademark system figurative search tool. 
  Training course, 15-18 October, Mexico City OHIM Tr aining on cancellation proceedings, Revocation, use of 
Trademarks and domain names in internet, comparison between the Opposition and Cancellation systems. 
 Workshop, 21-23 October, Alicante OHIM Workshop on th e application of new criteria in relation to the new 
Vienna classification. 
 Mexico  Seminar, 21 November, Mexico City OHIM Latest updates in Intellectual Property in the EU. 
  Seminar, 25 November, Leon (Mexico) OHIM CTM system. 
People's Republic of 
China  Seminar, 13-15 March, Alicante OHIM Trademark administration and OHIM activities. 
  Study visit, 31 May, Alicante OHIM Study visit regarding 3D and colour per se  Marks. 
Romania  Seminar, 27-28 June, Bucharest OHIM Overview of the CTM system. 
Slovenia  Seminar, 14 October, Ljubljana OHIM Semina r on CTM for private sector and University. 
South Africa  Training, 10-14 June Pretoria OHIM Training for examiners in order to improve their work skills. 
  Roving Seminar, 9-13 Se ptember, Pretoria 
and Capetown OHIM Seminar for entrepreneurs and representatives "CTM a way to 
access the Internal Market". 
Turkey  Seminar, 10 June, Ankara OHIM Seminar fo r Turkish Private sector representatives. 
  Seminar, 11 June, Ankara OHIM Seminar on CTM sy stem for Turkish Trademark agent employees. 
  Study visit, 23-25 July, Alicante OHIM CTM procedure. 
  Seminar, 25 November, Istanbul OHIM Semi nar for Turkish NGO on the CTM system.  IP/C/W/426/Add.5/Suppl.1 
Page 4 Beneficiary  Title and Date of the Event  Organizing Agency  Description  
Ukraine  Meeting, 4-5 April, Alicante OHIM Discussion on  the future cooperation between OHIM and the 
Ukrainian IP Office. 
Uruguay  International meeting,  11-19 April 2002, 
Montevideo WIPO Workshop on classification. 
Participants from: 
Barbados, China, Jordan, The Republic of 
Macedonia, Malaysia, 
Mexico, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, Uruguay, & Viet Nam  Training Seminar: 13-15 March on 
Administrative Issues in Patent and Trademark Procedures 
  WIPO, EPO, and 
OHIM Jointly organized Seminar in asso ciation with WIPO and EPO on 
'Administrative Issues in Patent and Trademark Granting Procedures'. 
    IP/C/W/426/Add.5/Suppl.1
 Page 5COOPERATION WITH DEVELOPING COUNTRIES AND COUNTRIES IN TRANSITION3 
YEAR 2003  
  
Beneficiary  Title and Date of the Event  Organizing Agency  Description   
All candidate countries4 Liaison meeting, 20-21 February , Alicante  OHIM Meeting on procedure and practise.  
  Liaison meeting, 12-13 June, Alicante OHI M Information Technology and  Information. 
  Liaison meeting, 2-3 October, Alicante  OHIM Registered Community Design (RCD). 
  EU TM & D Forum 13-14 October, 
Budapest OHIM This event consists of 10 mini seminars dedicated to 
various Trademark ™, Design, Community Trademark (CTM) and Registered Community Design (RCD) 
related matters. 
Bulgaria  Visit of OHIM's President, 16 July, Sofia OHIM Visit to National Offices of candidate countries. 
  Seminar, 4 June, Sofia OHIM Seminar for the private sector. 
China  Study visit, 26 November, Alicante OHIM Visit of the China Trademark Association. 
  Conference, 28 November, Shenzhen   China Industrial Design Forum. 
Cyprus  Seminar, 11-13 March, Nicosia OHIM Seminar fo r the Private sector and meeting with the 
National Office. 
  Training, 26-28 March, Alicante OHIM CTM on the job training – Members of staff of Cyprus 
IP Office. 
  Visit of OHIM's President 16 September, 
Nicosia OHIM Visit to National Offices of candidate countries. 
Czech Republic  Seminar, 19 May, Prague OHIM Seminar for the private sector. 
Cuba  ELDIPAT, March EPO Meeting with officials from IP offices. of Latin 
American countries. 
Korea  4th Examiners Meeting, 1-2 December, 
Taejon KIPO Trademark Examination matters.  
  Seminar, 3 December, Seoul OHIM Dissemination Seminar. 
Latvia  Expert mission, 5-6 May, Riga OHIM Participati on in IP master at the University of Riga. 
  Study visit, 10-13 May, Alicante OHIM Trademark Registration and Documentation - Members 
of staff of Latvian IP Office. 
Malta  Training, 26-28 March, Alicante  OHIM CTM on th e job training - Members of staff of Maltese 
IP Office. 
  Visit of OHIM's President, 19 November, 
Valletta OHIM Visit to National Offices of candidate countries. 
                                                      
3 DAC List of Aid Recipients (OECD) 
4 Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovak Republic, Slovenia and T urkey  IP/C/W/426/Add.5/Suppl.1 
Page 6 Beneficiary  Title and Date of the Event  Organizing Agency  Description   
Mexico  Workshop, 10-12 March, Mexico City OHIM Examinati on of the application of new criteria in relation 
to the new Vienna classification. 
  Roundtable discussion 19 May, Mexico 
City OHIM Round table discussion of absolute grounds for refusal. 
  Workshop, 20-21 May, Mexico City OHIM Criteria on the application of the 8th edition of the Nice 
Classification. 
  Study visit, 25-26 September, Alicante OHIM  Administrative management of Trademarks and 
Promotion. 
  Study Visit, 2-3 October, Alicante OHIM Study visit on CTM administrative proceedings. 
  Study Visit, 2-3 October, Alicante OHIM Study visit on promotion. 
  Congress, 16-20 November, Mexico City, ASIPI Congress of the ASIPI. 
  Conference, 9-10 December, Mexico City   Conference on IP in Mexico and in the world. 
Poland  Seminar, 7-9 April, Warsaw OHIM Seminar for the private sector.  
  Study visit, 8 May, Alicante OHIM CTM &RCD for Polish Customs Officials - In the 
framework of the OEPM - Poland twinning project.  
  Study visit 30 May, Alicante OHIM CT M Jurisprudence for Polish Judges - In the 
framework of the OEPM - Poland twinning project.  
  Study visit, 26 September, Alicante   CTM &RCD for Polish Customs Officials In the 
framework of the OEPM - Poland twinning project.  
  Visit of OHIM's President, 29 October, 
Warsaw OHIM Visit to National Offices of candidate countries. 
Romania  Seminar 2 June, Bucharest OHIM Seminar for the private sector,  
  Visit of OHIM's President, 15 July, 
Bucharest OHIM Visit to National Offices of candidate countries. 
Singapore  Optimal Fair, March   Dissemination activities CTM & RCD.  
  Forum, 2-4 October   International Design Forum. 
Slovak Republic  Seminar, 21 May, Bratislava OHIM Seminar for the private sector.  
  Visit of OHIM's President, 2 December, 
Banska Bystrica OHIM Visit to National Offices of candidate countries. 
Slovenia  Visit of OHIM's President, 2 June, 
Ljubljana OHIM Visit to National Offices of candidate countries. 
South Africa  Roving Seminar, 10-14 November  EPO/OHIM/CIPRO How to protect your industrial property assets in Europe 
and an African perspective of Industrial Property protection. 
Chinese Taipei  Seminars, 24-26 February, Taipei OHIM/TIPO 2 Dissemination Seminars for private sector + 1 
Training Seminar for TIPO officials. 
  Study Visit, 10-11 December, Alicante OHIM Study Visit of TIPO.    IP/C/W/426/Add.5/Suppl.1
 Page 7Beneficiary  Title and Date of the Event  Organizing Agency  Description   
Thailand  Conference, 28-31 August, Bangkok Department of IP in 
Bangkok Thailand Premier International Design Event. 
Turkey  Study visit, 10 February, Alicante  OHIM CTM fo r Turkish Judges - In th e framework of the EPO 
-Turkey project.  
  Study visit, 10-12 June, Alicante OHIM CTM & RCD for Turkish Judges - In the framework of 
the EPO - Turkey project.  
  Seminar, 23-25 June, Istanbul OHIM Seminar on Trademarks, Designs and Counterfeiting. 
  Workshop, 15-17 September, Ankara TPI Turkish Patent Institute High Le vel Strategy Planning 
Workshop. 
Participants from: Armenia, 
Barbados, Brazil, Egypt, El Salvador, Iran, Lesotho, 
Malawi, Saudi Arabia, Slovak 
Republic, South Africa, & Sri Lanka  Training Seminar, 24-26 March on 
Administrative Issues in Patent and Trademark Procedures 
  WIPO/EPO/ 
OHIM Jointly organized Seminar in association with WIPO and 
EPO on 'Administrative Issues in Patent and Trademark Granting Procedures'. 
   IP/C/W/426/Add.5/Suppl.1 
Page 8 COOPERATION WITH DEVELOPING COUNTRIES AND COUNTRIES IN TRANSITION5 
YEAR 2004 (31 AUGUST 2004) 
  
  
Beneficiary / Date  Duration  Activity  Venue  Organizer  Objective  
All Candidate Countries            
11 March 20046 2 Liaison Meeting  Alicante OHIM Meeting on Procedure and 
Practice. 
17 June 20047 1 Liaison Meeting Alicante OHIM Meeting on Information 
Technologies and Information. 
Colombia            
1 April 2004 7 Reunión con el Superintendente de 
industria y Comercio & I Congreso 
Asociación Antiguos Alumnos  Bogota Asociación 
Antiguos Alumnos 
Magíster 
Lucentinos en América Meeting with CO IP Office and 
Seminar. 
Croatia            
4 February 2004 0 Visit of students from Magister 
Lucentinus (Special Trademarks Module) OHIM Universidad de 
Alicante (Magister Lucentinus) Training. 
Cyprus            
27 January 2004 1 Seminar on how to protect your 
Trademarks and designs in Europe Nicosia OHIM and Cyprus 
Registrar of 
Companies Office Develop co-operative 
relationship between OHIM 
and the Cyprus National Office, disseminate the knowledge of the CTM and CD. 
Estonia            
27 January 2004 1 Visit of President to National Offices 
of Candidate Countries Tallinn OHIM and 
Estonian Patent 
Office Continuation of visits of 
President to NO of CC as part 
of introductory meeting with 
heads of all National Offices 
7 May 2004 2 Community Trademark and 
Community Design protection and 
litigation for practitioners Riga Master Programme 
of Riga Graduate 
School of Law Informing / training legal 
practitioners on CTM and RCD 
system.  Objective to promote 
and inform legal professionals 
                                                      
5 DAC List of Aid Recipients (OECD) 
6 Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Turk ey 
7 Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey   IP/C/W/426/Add.5/Suppl.1
 Page 9Beneficiary / Date  Duration  Activity  Venue  Organizer  Objective  
in Baltic States of our system 
and its advantages 
Hungary            
4 February 2004 1 Visit of students from Magister 
Lucentius (Special Trademarks Module) OHIM Universidad de 
Alicante Magister Lucentum Training 
Korea, Republic of            
24 February 2004 1 Meeting with KIDP, Mr Soon-In LEE Essen OHIM Establish contact with Director 
of Korean Industrial Design 
Promotion Institute 
Latvia            
28 January 2004 1 Visit of President to National Offices 
of Candidate Countries Riga OHIM and Latvian 
Patent Office Continuation of visits of 
President to NO of CC as part of introductory meeting with heads of all National Offices 
7 May 2004 2 Community Trademark and 
Community Design protection and litigation for practitioners Riga Master Programme 
of Riga Graduate School of Law Informing / training legal 
practitioners on CTM and RCD system.  Objective to promote and inform legal professionals 
in Baltic States of our system 
and its advantages. 
Lithuania            
29 January 2004 1 Visit of President to National Offices 
of Candidate Countries Vilnius OHIM and State 
Patent Bureau of the Republic of Lithuania Continuation of visits of 
President to NO of CC as part of introductory meeting with heads of all National Offices. 
7 May 2004 2 Community Trademark and 
Community Design protection and litigation for practitioners Riga Master Programme 
of Riga Graduate School of Law Informing / training legal 
practitioners on CTM and RCD system.  Objective to promote and inform legal professionals 
in Baltic States of our system 
and its advantages. 
Slovak Republic            
9 June 2004 1 How to protect your Trademark and 
design in the EU Bratislava OHIM and 
Regional Chamber of Commerce Raise awareness among owners 
and representatives. Contact with regional Chamber of Commerce as multiplier of 
information.  IP/C/W/426/Add.5/Suppl.1 
Page 10 Beneficiary / Date  Duration  Activity  Venue  Organizer  Objective  
South Africa            
12 February 2004 2 CIPRO Benchmarking Exercise Alican te OHIM + CIPRO Benchmarking exercise with 
CIPRO. 
Turkey            
4 February 2004 1 Visit of students from Magister 
Lucentinus (Special Trademarks Module) OHIM Universidad de 
Alicante Magister Lucentum Training. 
14 June 2004 2 Roving seminar on CTM and RCD 
systems Istanbul  OHIM and TMD Disseminate information 
relating to RCD and CTM 
systems towards Turkish owners. 
15 June 2004 1 Dissemination seminar in Turkey  Izmir OHIM and TMD Disseminate information 
relating to RCD and CTM systems towards Turkish owners.  IP/C/W/426/Add.5/Suppl.1 
 Page 11 
 
 
TECHNICAL COOPERATION ACTIVITIES OF 
THE EUROPEAN PATENT OFFICE (EPO) 
2002-2003 
  
TABLE OF CONTENTS 
  I. INTRODUCTION..............................................................................................................12 
A.
             TECHNICAL UNITS.................................................................................................................12 
B. G EOGRAPHICAL UNITS.........................................................................................................15 
 IP/C/W/426/Add.5/Suppl.1 
Page 12  
 
TECHNICAL COOPERATION ACTIVITIES OF 
THE EUROPEAN PATENT OFFICE (EPO) 
2002-2003 
  
I. INTRODUCTION 
The European Patent Office is involved in t echnical cooperation activities with countries all 
around the world.  Some run on the basis of bilate ral working plans or agreements which the EPO has 
with a number of countries and regional organiza tions. A second part of the available funding is 
devoted to work done in cooperation with WIPO , and for that purpose the EPO and WIPO meet 
annually to arrange the programme for the coming  year.  Last but by no means least, the EPO 
implements projects for the EU, these project s are not discussed in the present document. 
The present document gives an overview of activ ities carried out in 2002 and a global view of 
those carried out and further planned for 2003. 
Within the Directorate, International Coopera tion, Geographical and "technical" units have 
been set up. 
A.
             TECHNICAL UNITS 
1.         The EPO International Academy 
(a)             Introduction 
The International Academy is the training servi ce provider within the framework of the EPO's 
International cooperation activities. In recent year s, in order to support the accession process, the 
International Academy has continued internationa lising its training activities by strengthening its 
partnership network and developing cooperation on training with member states' national offices.  
Given the broad range of issues addressed by th e programme, covering the legislative, managerial, 
technical, administrative and enforcement aspects of IP rights, the International Academy has over the 
years built up a network of partners including national offices, WIPO, OHIM,  epi, CEIPI, universities 
and research institutes teaching IP, as well as industrialists and patent practitioners. 
(a) Year 2002 activities report 
In 2002, 18 seminars were organized, held in Alicante, Athens, Berlin, Geneva, Munich, The 
Hague and Vienna.  Apart from staff from patent and Trademark offices, government officials, 
judges, patent attorneys and researchers were trained, 696 trainees in all. 
Three seminars focusing on patent informati on dissemination techniques and patent office 
administration matters were jointly organized with  the WIPO Worldwide Academy. In cooperation 
with the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office a nd the WIPO Worldwide Academy, a seminar on 
coordinated patent search and examination was organized for Spanish speaking examiners.  
With a view to raising patent awareness am ong the general public, the EPO International 
Academy brought together patent professionals , scientists, government officials and media 
representatives in the seminar on "Industrial property issues for government officials and information 
administrators". The intention was to generate  a positive impact on the broad public's patent 
awareness through a multiplier effect.  The proceed ings of the seminar have been published.  IP/C/W/426/Add.5/Suppl.1 
 Page 13 
 
 
The Academy's extensive training programme in cluded two large-scale events.  The seminar 
on "Information technology concepts and infrastru ctures for small and medium-sized patent and 
Trademark offices", jointly organized with the Greek Patent Office in Athens in the second half of 
September, opened up new possibilities for futu re cooperation. First-hand country-specific 
information allowed IT managers to review and re define concise strategies ensuring that offices' 
development keeps pace with IT development.  Th e EPO management emphasised that this approach 
to cooperation in the field of training met with a positive response and woul d be continued in the 
future. 
The "International Forum on protection of co mputer-related and business model inventions" 
that took place in late November aroused considerable  public interest.  It was attended by more than 
400 participants from over 50 countries, and it provide d up-to-date information for the European user 
community and was an excellent forum for the ex change of information and expertise on a global 
level.  It was organized jointly w ith the Max Planck Institute and the epi, and all major granting 
authorities, including the French, German, Japanese , UK and US offices, as well as the European 
Commission, the German Federal Patents Court, UNICE and many industry representatives 
participated. 
(b) Year 2003 programme 
In 2003, 25 seminars will have been organized  by the Academy at the EPO sites along with 
other locations such as Alicante, Geneva, Madrid, Pa ris and Turin.  The par ticipants will range from 
staff from patent and trademark offices to governme nt officials, judges, patent attorneys and 
researchers. 
Three seminars focusing on patent informati on dissemination techniques and patent office 
administration matters have been jointly orga nized with the WIPO Worldwide Academy.  
In cooperation with the Spanish Patent a nd Trademark Office and the WIPO Worldwide 
Academy, a seminar on coordinated patent search and examination has been organized for Spanish-speaking examiners.  
With a view to raising patent awareness am ong the general public, the EPO International 
Academy will be bringing together patent prof essionals, scientists, government officials and media 
representatives in the seminar on "Industrial property issues for government officials and information 
administrators".  The intention is to generate a pos itive impact on the broad p ublic's patent awareness 
through a multiplier effect.  The proceedings of the seminar will be published. 
The extensive training programme for 2003 includes a number of special events, in particular: 
•
              a public symposium on the "Management of IP rights in the knowledge-based society", 
followed by a three-day workshop on "IP teaching and IP training materials",  held in Turin (IT) from 30 June to 4 July. 
  
•              a seminar on the PCT procedure (Sem 9a/2003), including a public symposium on 
recent changes, to be held from 3 to 7 November 2003. 
  
•             a symposium on "The European Patent System: Focus 2003: Research and 
Development", to be held in Munich from 13 to 17 October. 
  
(c) Outline of activities planned for 2004 
The EPO International Academy will continue to strengthen existing cooperation on training 
and further develop the established network of partners. With a view  to greater involvement in the IP/C/W/426/Add.5/Suppl.1 
Page 14  
 
planning of its training activities, national offices are invited to submit proposals and inform the 
Academy of their needs and wishes with regard to IP training.  
The main training areas are likely to be: 
•
     support for national offices (follow up of JAB sessions) 
•     support for the patent attorney profession - joint project with CEIPI 
 
-     facilitating preparation for the EQE 
-     a special "grandfather" programme 
-     support for IP teaching in universiti es and research institutes teaching IP 
 
• support for R&D protection and innovation support through IP training 
      Topics for international symposia may include: 
 
-          biotechnology  
-          the Community patent  
-          nanotechnology 
-          R&D support and innovation protection 
  
With a view to raising patent awareness am ong the general public, the EPO International 
Academy hopes to bring together patent professi onals, scientists, government officials and media 
representatives in the seminar on "Industrial property issues for government officials and information 
administrators".  The intention is to generate a pos itive impact on the broad p ublic's patent awareness 
through a multiplier effect.  The proceedings of the seminar will be published. 
  
2. Automation 
The Common Software (a software for th e Administration of an IP office)  – Since the 
summer of 2001, the EPO has been progressing to wards completion of the Java rewrite of the 
Common Software (CS).  The first phase of de velopment – which will see the new application 
introduced in the patent domain only, but without  all configuration and parametering modules – was 
accepted at the end of 2002. The remaining devel opment work is being undertaken in the next 
framework contract, which has again been awarded to Jouve, to be completed by the end of 2003.  
The new Java CS has two main advantages over the ex isting CS architecture.  It is intuitively much 
easier to use (web-browser interface), and it can be operated in conjunction with any of the major 
SQL databases, such as Oracle, DB2 and Microsoft SQL Server.  We are very pleased that Luxembourg has elected to act as the pilot o ffice for the new JCS on the Oracle platform. 
It is also planned to install the CS in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.  There are 
also plans, but as yet no firm commitments , to install it in France, Poland and Malta. 
POLite  – The POLite software development approa ch, for which ARIPO in Zimbabwe is the 
pilot office, is aimed at patent and Trademark admini stration, but is inherently much simpler than the 
CS, both functionally and technically.  A first pr oduct developed using this  approach has been 
accepted at ARIPO, and has also entered into full  production use.  The tasks that remain are the 
completion of user training, and the backlogging of all existing data. 
Once the POLite concept has been proven at ARIP O, it is planned to make the approach and 
the software available to the patent offices of other developing countries – probably ARIPO in the 
first instance, for which little modification will be required.  IP/C/W/426/Add.5/Suppl.1 
 Page 15 
 
 
Data capture  – The capturing of the backlog of data - for the recent past only - from central 
and eastern European countries in a form suitable for esp@cenet  is now complete.  It is now intended 
to provide interested national offices with the means to extend the coverage of their esp@cenet  
databases to capture data covering a much greater peri od (up to 100 years).  To this end, hardware and 
software licences have been procured, and training has been given to enable national offices to be 
self-sufficient in this respect.  The EPO also benef its by being able to increase the coverage of its own 
databases.  This programme will continue in future years. 
B. GEOGRAPHICAL UNITS 
1. Cooperation with China, Hong Kong, China and Chinese Taipei  
(a) China Bilateral Programme  
As usual, most activities in 2002 related to the training of SIPO staff, with a total of 53 
participants attending seven seminars and going on study visits to Europe. 
A group of senior examiners from SIPO (worki ng in the fields of biotechnology, new 
materials and telecommunications) was invited to share experiences and views with DG 2 examiners 
and jointly examine some applications. 
With about 300 new examiners recruited this year, their basic training is one of SIPO's top 
priorities. The EPO and SIPO together organized a training seminar for new examiners. The seminar took place at SIPO's Training Centre in Beijing, a nd was open to participants from other countries: 
there were 72 participants, including examiners from Croatia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, The 
Philippines, Thailand, Turkey and Viet Nam. Th e seminar was opened by Mr Kyriakides (VP DG 2). 
Lectures were presented by EPO experts and in some cases by SIPO experts.  In view of the good 
results, it has been agreed to hold such a joint seminar regularly every two years. 
Several expert missions to SIPO, involving a to tal of twelve EPO experts and dealing with 
specific issues related to online search techniques a nd substantive examination in the main technical 
fields, were carried out as an in situ complement  to the training activities carried out in Europe. 
The search system used in SIPO (EPOQUENET)  has been updated;  migration to JAVA has 
been completed. 
A total of 60 staff from SIPO will take part  in seminars and study visits, including a 
delegation of senior and middle managers who will visit the EPO to discuss management of patent 
examination, training and quality control. 
Six EPO experts will carry out missions to SIPO . One of the missions will be focused on 
EPOQUE strategy training and specific issues in  examination practice (the BEST approach). 
The EPO and SIPO will start discussions on e nhanced cooperation in the field of patent 
information: a helpdesk will be set up in Vienna to assist with searches in Chinese databases, to re-sell 
Chinese patent information products, and to provid e basic information about Chinese IPR. Conditions 
will be discussed with SIPO on its acting as reselle r of EPO CD-ROMs and other patent information 
products in China. 
(b) Cooperation with Hong Kong, China and Chinese Taipei  
In 2002, two participants from Hong Kong, Chin a took part in the Forum on software-related 
inventions organized by the Inte rnational Academy, and five examiners from Chinese Taipei attended IP/C/W/426/Add.5/Suppl.1 
Page 16  
 
a seminar on examination in biotechnology.  Two EP O experts visited the Intellectual Property Office 
in Taipei to give a seminar on software-related applications. 
In 2003, the Intellectual Property Department of Hong Kong, China will be invited to take 
part in a seminar for new examiners and another one on IPR essentials for researchers and scientists, 
while six Taiwanese examiners will attend a seminar on biotechnology.  Up to three expert missions 
will be carried out to Chinese Taipei.  
2.         Cooperation with Asia 
In 2002 our activities had a sector focus on patent information. 
The EPO together with the Intellectual Prope rty Office of Singapore (IPOS) organized the 
Europe-Asia Patent Information Conference I, EAPI C I, in September in Singapore.  The conference-
cum-exhibition, organized along the lines of the Latin American ELDIPAT, was a success, with the 
exhibition sold out and the conference at tended by 200 interested participants. 
 In parallel with EAPIC, the EPO organized a meeting between EPO, IPOS and the ASEAN 
Heads of Office, where the ASEAN Heads of Office met with EPO management to discuss patent 
information and the future of c ooperation between the two regions. 
With regard to ASEANPAT (compilation of a database of granted patents from the ASEAN 
region), a mission to all countries concerned was orga nized in June, to clarify the technical issues 
involved.  In July, the EPO published an ESPACE Viet Nam disc. 
In October, the EPO, in cooperation with the Malaysian Patent Office (IPD), organized the 
ASEAN Workshop on Search and Examination in the field of pharmaceuticals. 
During 2002, we succeeded in forging links w ith the nascent Cambodian and Laotian patent 
offices, which are both establishing their patent gr anting structures after having passed the necessary 
legislation.  In this context the Deputy Chief of the Cambodian Industrial Property Office visited 
Munich. 
In addition, the EPO arranged several expert missions to India, Indonesia and Malaysia to 
organize training courses there. Dir. 5.2.3 staff members of travelled to Thailand, Viet Nam, 
Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines in  order to maintain our links with all these 
countries. 
The regional database for the ASEAN countries, ASEANPAT, will be finalised at the end of 
the year.  In Singapore, a second meeting will be organized as a follow-up to EAPIC (but this time 
without an exhibition), and regional training in the technical field of mechanics will be organized in 
Malaysia.  The regional symposium for ministers and high-ranking officials of the Mekong countries 
has had to be postponed for political reasons (a dispute between Cambodia and Thailand). 
3.          Latin America 
Cooperation activities with Latin America in 2002 fo cused on the traditional fields of training, 
study visits, automation, and the promotion of indus trial property and the European patent system in 
the region.  
A new field was the promotion of IP rights enforcement. The highlight of the cooperation programme was once again the Latin American Encounter on 
Patent Information Dissemination (ELDIPAT), wh ich was organized together with the Brazilian  IP/C/W/426/Add.5/Suppl.1 
 Page 17 
 
 
Patent Office (INPI) in Rio de Janeiro.  Many h eads of patent offices were present, especially from 
Central America.  During the event, esp@cenet  Brazil was presented.  Taking advantage of the 
presence of Mr Kober and Mr Desantes in Rio, a demonstration of EPOQUE was given in the framework of the project for transferring EPOQUE technology to the Brazilian Patent Office.  
Good relations with the Mexican Patent Office  (IMPI) continued with many projects in all 
fields, especially in connection with the developm ent of "Centros de Patentamiento" (patenting 
centres) with a view to increasing the number  of national Mexican patent applications. 
Another important event in the 2002 cooperation programme was a seminar for judges and 
public prosecutors organized jointly with WIPO and the Spanish Patent Office in Madrid. It brought 
together sixteen Latin American judges, who atte nded talks on the European patent system and the 
EPO's Boards of Appeal, along with other IP issues. 
There was a marked incr ease in activities jointly organized with the Spanish Patent Office 
(OEPM) and WIPO. 
On the automation front, the esp@cenet Latipat project was launched. This aims at getting the 
bibliographic data of all Latin American patent  offices in standardised electronic format and 
publishing it on the Internet using esp@cenet  technology. 
A gap analysis looking at the potential for inst alling the Common Software at the Colombian 
Patent Office (SIC) was conducted, and delivered encour aging results that are highly likely to lead to 
the adoption of this software to ma nage patent and Tradem ark procedures at the SIC if the financing is 
secured. 
The first official contacts were established with  a number of Central American patent offices, 
Cuba and El Salvador in particular, and are sure to  lead to cooperation activities with this region in the 
coming year, mainly in the area of electronic publication and in promotion activities. The 2003 ELDIPAT has already taken place in Havana.   
In 2003, we will continue with training and st udy visits in order to promote EPO standards 
and examination procedures. Access to the EPO's ex amination results is now much easier with the 
online availability of file inspection facilities. The pending automation projects, namely the Common 
Software for Colombia and electronic publication ( esp@cenet  Latipat, implemented jointly with 
WIPO and the Spanish Office), will be completed.  A further extension of esp@cenet  and EPOSCAN 
technologies to new countries is also planned. 
4.         Africa and the Middle East 
(a)
             Activities in 2002 and plans for 2003 
There are two main strategic fields in our cooperation programmes with the countries of the 
region:  
  
•              planning and implementing concre te modernisation projects, particularly in the field of 
IT infrastructure for national and regional IP offices 
  
•             making electronic patent documentation available in a usable and searchable form for 
the patent offices in the region, beyond the possibilities offered by esp@cenet . The 
EPO has yet to support the development of  the necessary tools to accomplish this 
strategic task. 
  IP/C/W/426/Add.5/Suppl.1 
Page 18  
 
(b)
             South Africa 
Cooperation activities are intensifying and are fo cusing in particular on modernising the IT 
infrastructure at CIPRO and promoting IP issues to the scientific community and to industry (protecting inventions and exploitin g patent information).  In Septem ber the EPO took part in a roving 
seminar organized jointly with CIPRO and OHIM in Johannesburg and Cape Town, and a five-
member delegation from South Africa participated in the Athens Workshop on IT strategies for IP 
offices in developing countries.  In October the head  of CIPRO paid an official visit to the EPO in 
Munich, and two high-ranking CIPRO officials attended the EPIDOS Annual Conference (EAC) in Copenhagen. An official cooperation framework ag reement for 2003 and 2004 has been signed by the 
two organizations.  
The first major event was the " Regional Forum on IPRs for Africa and the Middle East ". 
This forum was a follow-up to the Casablanca Foru m and was organized in South Africa together 
with CIPRO, the African Regional Industrial Pr operty Organisation (ARIPO) and the UK Patent 
Office. Considerable support came from the French , German and Portuguese Patent Offices and the 
Arab Society for Intellectual Property (ASIP).  The Forum ran from 31 March to 4 April 2003  at the 
Kopanong Conference Centre in Johannesburg. 
More than 100 experts and IP practitioners, representing more than 70 organizations, 
institutions and governments from some 40 countries, gathered in the Republic of South Africa with 
the aim of promoting the role of the industrial property system in strengthening the ties between Europe and Africa and the economies of developing countries. 
The event was also marked by an official visit of President Kober and Vice-President 
Desantes. The heads of the UK and French Patent Offices, Ms Alison Brimelow and 
Mr Daniel Hangard respectively, were also at the Forum. 
At the Regional Forum held in Johannesburg, two topics which have recently attracted much 
press attention were openly discussed: the price of medicines (in particular for the treatment of AIDS) and benefit-sharing aspects with regard to the San people and the Hoodia plant used as a source of 
active metabolites for obesity control. 
For further information refer to the following websites: www.southcentre.org , "Integrating 
Public Health Concerns into Patent Le gislation in Developing Countries"; and www.csir.co.za : 
Hoodia plant and appetite suppressants. 
(c) ARIPO 
            The first ever POLite project has been completed at ARIPO, giving the EPO the lead in this 
type of technology and as a service provider for de veloping countries.  A scanning project will begin 
in 2003 to capture the patent documents of AR IPO and possibly some of its member states. 
  
(d) OAPI 
            Production of the OAPI ESPACE CD-R OM, from the year 1992 on, has resumed.  An official 
visit by the EPO to OAPI to review the current cooperation programme took place in February 2003. 
The Director General of OAPI w ill visit the EPO in October 2003. 
  
(e) Arab countries 
            A conference on institutional capacities of IP offices in the Near East (current situation and 
outlook) was organized in Beirut at the end of October, together with ASIP and the Talal Abu-
Ghazaleh International (TAGI).  The delegations came from Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia,  IP/C/W/426/Add.5/Suppl.1 
 Page 19 
 
 
Kuwait and the GCC PO, including all the Heads of Office. The EPO also took part in a seminar 
organized by the pharmaceutical companies of Jord an. These were the first events ever organized by 
the EPO in this region, and they laid the foundatio ns for a coordinated and focused approach for the 
future. 
  
5.                 The Commonwealth of Independent Stat es and Mongolia: the ICON project 
(a)               2002 – Automation  
In February, automation discussions were held with the EAPO  Vice-President and staff in 
The Hague, and in June these discussions were continued at the EAPO Working Party on IT in 
Moscow , where the focus was on esp@cenet .  Similar discussions were also held with experts from  
Rospatent .  On other aspects of automation, Moldova  has expressed an interest in the Common 
Software and will be sent prototype equipment for testing.  The Belarus  Patent Office, with EPO 
support, has made significant progress in devel oping offline searchable databases using CD-ROM 
information. 
(b)              2002  – Seminars  
-       In May, the EPO took part in  an anniversary seminar arranged by the Georgian  
Intellectual Property office, and held fruitful discussions on cooperation. 
  
-        In June, a specially arranged seminar on IP dispute resolution  was held in Kiev for 
judges, lawyers and IP experts.  It was de veloped in response to the presidential decree 
in Ukraine aimed at  establishing IP courts. 
  
-        In September, the EPO joined the EAPO and the Azerbaijan Patent Office in a seminar 
for young examiners in Baku . This coincided with the appointment of the Minister of 
the new agency under which the Azerbaijan PO has been placed, and fruitful 
discussions were held with the Minister. 
 -        In October, our first 'train the trainer'  seminar was held for hand-picked specialists 
from CIS IP offices. The aim was to train staff in IP information and its use and in 
presentation techniques, so that they could hold their own lectures and discussions on 
their return, initiating a domino effect. 
  
 -      The roving seminar, in November, travelled from Munich to Paris and then to 
London,  giving a presentation on recent developments in the Eurasian patent system to 
European attorneys and IP specialists.  
  
(c)              2002 - Other matters  
-        In April, three EAPO examiners took part in on-the-job training with EPO staff in the 
fields of biotechnology and pharmaceuticals. 
  
- In October, a Tajik delegation comprising the Chairman of the Supreme Economic 
Court, leading judges and the head of the IP office paid a one-week visit to the EPO to 
study appeals systems. They attended talks by EPO experts and UK Patent Office staff 
and were also received at the Federal Patents Court.  
  
-        In December, an EAPO expert  visited The Hague to study the EPO's approach to using 
non-patent literature databases. In the same month, the Vice-President of EAPO visited 
CEIPI  to discuss setting up lecture courses. 
  IP/C/W/426/Add.5/Suppl.1 
Page 20  
 
(d)
              2003 – Framework  
In 2003 the main elements of the programme are as follows: 
  
- In automation, we are continuing the esp@cenet  project for EAPO and Rospatent.  
-        A seminar on IT developments for national offices has been organized. 
-       Belarus is being afforded continued support to  develop its databases and effect 
implementation in other offices of the region.  
-        A follow-up seminar to the 'train the trainer'  event held in 2002 with the same staff is 
planned, to further develop their skills and build on experience gained since the last 
training session. A second 'train the trainer'  seminar will be set up for a new batch of 
participants. 
-       The significant changes in the Azerbaijan government's administrative structure 
affecting the IP system offered a real opportunity for developments. Our further 
cooperation was discussed during a visit of the Minister and the head of the IP office to the EPO in February. 
-        Following considerable interest in our Kiev seminar last year, the IP dispute resolution  
seminar was held in Minsk  and opened to all CIS offices. 
  
Provision is also made for the continuation of  language training courses and CD-ROM and IP 
journal subscriptions. 
 
6. Central and eastern European countries 
During 2002, European patent granting seminars  were held in Belgrade in May and July, 
Ljubljana in June and Bucharest in November.  A European patent application filing seminar for new 
member states was organized in The Hague in Oc tober, while seminars specifically for patent 
attorneys were organized in Berlin in May, Cedz yna in Poland in September and Sofia in November. 
A data exchange meeting for new and acceding countri es took place in Vienna in April.  Other more 
specialized seminars on chemical and biotechnology applications, patent infri ngement and patent law 
were also held this year in Poland.  Coordina tion of automation assistance to all these offices, 
particularly in relation to the Common Software, continued throughout the year. 
Close technical cooperation will continue in 2 003 with the organization of various seminars 
and conferences and information systems support, but with further assistance being targeted to the 
Balkan countries in conjunction with a regiona l EU-funded programme, which is currently being 
negotiated with the European Commission and is due to start by mid-2003.  A further EU-funded 
programme for Croatia is also likely to be appr oved by the Commission by mid-2003, and the various 
planned activities are expected to begin later this year. 
On a purely bilateral basis, the EPO will f und patent awareness, granting procedure and 
enforcement seminars in Albania, Bosnia & Herz egovina, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, the former 
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Poland and Serbia & Montenegro throughout the year.  A 
European patent application receiving section course for new member states from this region was held in The Hague in February. 
It is also hoped that Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia & Herzegovina will sign an extension 
agreement for European patents as soon as possible in 2003.  In addition, initial contacts will be made 
with Malta and Iceland regarding their imminent accession to the EPC.  IP/C/W/426/Add.5/Suppl.1 
 Page 21 
 
 
The EPO will manage a EC-funded regional pr oject for designated CARDS countries, 
comprising Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croa tia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 
and Serbia & Montenegro.  The project is due to run for three years starting this September and will seek to strengthen IP institutions and enforcement aut horities, to ensure that IP protection conforms to 
EU requirements, to bring national legal frameworks into line with TRIPS, to raise awareness of IP 
rights, and to improve regiona l cooperation and harmonisation. 
7.
 Signature of the bilateral cooperation programme between the EPO and KIPO 
Over the past few years, KIPO has obtained assi stance from the EPO, particularly in putting 
together the PCT minimum documentation needed to support its claim for recognition as a PCT 
International Searching Authority. In 1999, for instance, the EPO supplied KIPO with some 10 
million documents in facsimile form, copied from it s electronic patent library (BNS). The EPO has 
also helped the KIPO to insta ll the MIMOSA authoring technology on site, and it is now used for 
regular CD-ROM production in support of disse mination and patent information services.  
In 2002, the EPO and KIPO have decided to concentrate their efforts on areas of common 
interest where the exchange of expertise would be be neficial to both parties.  Some of the cooperation 
areas the two offices intend to foster constitute the backbone for extensive fu rther exchange among IP 
offices, and will prove useful in mastering growing workloads.  
From the EPO's point of view, one example is the growing importance of Korean 
documentation: the number of KIPO publications is  of a comparable order of magnitude to the 
number of EPO publications; the documents contain abstracts in English and useful priority documents and search reports.  Users regularly cite Korea as one of the countries that they would like 
to be fully covered by the EPO's documentation sy stems, together with requests for improving the 
timeliness, scope and quality of the data delivered. 
The future cooperation plan with KIPO has been solidly structured in an agreement signed by 
President Kober and Commissioner Kim in Daejeon on  25 April 2002.  The agreement covers four 
major areas of action, namely documentation mana gement, automation projects, patent procedures 
and patent information.  In all areas, projects are defined for a period of two years, with a review 
scheduled at the end of the first year.  During th is period, experts will jointly decide on common 
activities, balancing out mutual advantages a nd assuring consistency of practice and policy. IP/C/W/426/Add.5/Suppl.1 
Page 22  
 
TECHNICAL COOPERATION ACTIVITIES OF 
THE EUROPEAN PATENT OFFICE (EPO) 
2003-2004 
  
  
TABLE OF CONTENTS 
 
 
I.          INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................... ............23 
II.               OVERVIEW OF ACTIVITIES BY GE OGRAPHICAL REGION..................................23 
A.               COOPERATION WITH CHINA , HONG KONG, CHINA AND CHINESE TAIPEI ................................23 
B.               COOPERATION WITH ASIA (EXCEPT CHINA , HONG KONG , CHINA AND CHINESE TAIPEI )..........24 
C. LATIN AMERICA ........................................................................................................................25 
D. AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST...............................................................................................26 
E. THE COMMONWEALTH OF INDEPENDENT STATES AND MONGOLIA - ICON  PROJECT ............28 
F. C ENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES (INCLUDING OTHER ACCESSION  
STATES ).............................................................................................................................. ......30 
 III. HORIZONTAL UNITS......................... .............................. ............................ ....................... 31 
A. I
NTERNATIONAL ACADEMY ......................................................................................................31 
B. A UTOMATION ............................................................................................................................33 
ANNEX............................ ........................ .............................. ...................... .................. .......................34 
   IP/C/W/426/Add.5/Suppl.1 
 Page 23 
 
 
I.          INTRODUCTION 
The European Patent Office (EPO) carries out cooperation activities with countries all over 
the world. 
A first part of these activities is funded by the EPO budget and is implemented on the basis of 
bilateral working plans the EPO has with a number  of countries and regional organizations or on the 
basis of joint EPO-WIPO programmes.  The second pa rt of the EPO activities consists of projects 
implemented for the European Union.  This second part is not included in this report. 
The present document gives an overview of activ ities carried out in 2003 and a global view of 
those planned for 2004.  A financial overview is given in the attached table for information. 
II.                OVERVIEW OF ACTIVITIES BY GEOGRAPHICAL REGION 
A.                 COOPERATION WITH CHINA , HONG KONG, CHINA AND CHINESE TAIPEI  
Most of the activities developed under the EPO -SIPO Cooperation Programme are devoted to 
training patent examiners, especially in the areas of biotechnology, software and business methods.  In 
2003, 31 patent examiners from SIPO participated in four seminars organized by EPO International 
Academy, 23 more attended study visits to EPO  offices in Munich and The Hague, with topics 
ranging from administrative and examining issues to pa tent information produc ts and management of 
the granting procedure.  Four EPO experts went to Beijing on training missions in the areas of 
mechanics, physics, electricity and chemistry. 
An important part of the EPO-SIPO cooperati on is the assistance given to SIPO in the 
implementation of EPOQUE (search tool of the EPO) in China.  In September 2003, the maintenance 
contract on EPOQUE between SIPO and Empolis was reviewed and extended allowing support of the 
system for 1200 examiners currently using it.  During the 14th EPO-SIPO Joint Committee Meeting, 
held in Shanghai, October 2003, with participation of the two heads of offices, EPO and SIPO reached 
a series of agreements concerning the incorporation of SIPO to Esp@cenet, installation of an EpoqueNet workstation at SIPO; SIPO's move  to Patnet 2, cooperation on DNA sequences 
management and SIPO's traditional medicine database to be shared with the EPO. 
By the end of 2004, a total of 48 patent ex aminers from SIPO will have attended seminars 
organized by EPO International Academy, 20 more w ill have participated in study visits to the EPO 
offices in Munich and The Hague and four expert s from EPO will have vis ited Beijing on training 
missions.  From 21 to 25 June, a jointly organized  EPOSIPO seminar took place in Beijing (China IP 
Training Centre) with participation of 65 new pate nt examiners from SIPO and 27 more from patent 
offices in Asia, Europe and Latin America.  Four experts from the EPO and six from SIPO were 
entrusted with the implementation of the seminar' s programme.  Cooperation in the field of patent 
information will be enhanced with the agreement to establish in the EPO sub-office in Vienna, a 
helpdesk for Chinese IPR, to carry out searches in  Chinese databases, sell Chinese patent information 
products and provide basic information about Chines e IPR laws and regulations to ever more demand 
from European industry. 
With regard to Hong Kong, China, Chinese Ta ipei, Macao, China, bilateral cooperation is 
limited to exchange of patent information products  and the participation of some staff in seminars 
organized by EPO International Academy.  In Ma y 2004, an EPO expert visited Macao on a training 
mission.   IP/C/W/426/Add.5/Suppl.1 
Page 24  
 
The EPO regularly organizes visits for delegati ons from the region (mainly from SIPO) to the 
EPO Offices in Munich, The Hague and Vienna.  On ly this year, the most relevant visits were 
delegations headed by: SIPO's Deputy Commissione r in charge of international cooperation, 
automation and patent information, the President  of All-China Patent Agents Association and 
Chairman of East IP, Director General of the Ch inese IP Publishing House, Director General of the 
Chinese Patent Information Centre, Director Genera l of Chinese Taipei's Intellectual Property Office 
(TIPO). 
From 6 to 7 October 2004, the 15th EPO-SIPO Committee meeting will take place in Berlin.  
At that meeting, the two heads of offices will agree on the activities to be developed during 2005 
under the bilateral cooperation programme. 
  
B.
                 COOPERATION WITH ASIA (EXCEPT CHINA , HONG KONG , CHINA AND CHINESE TAIPEI ) 
Cooperation activities with Asia consist mainly in contributions to the ECAP programme and 
as such are described under this point. 
Further bilateral activities have been: 
• The EPO and the IP Office of Singapore (IPOS) jointly organized the second Europe-
Asia Patent Information Conference (EAP IC) on 4-5 March 2004 in Singapore.  The 
event, which comprised lectures and presentations by high-level representatives from national IP offices and private enterprises on patent information tools and services as well as their use for IP assets valuation, was well attended by more than 100 paying participants stemming essentially from the SMEs, patent agencies and research companies, located in the ASEAN countries. 
• The ASEANPAT database comprising patent s, design applications and utility models 
from Thailand, Malaysia, Viet Nam, The Philippines and Indonesia was first produced under the form of a CD-ROM in January 2004 . In view of easier update deliveries and 
data exchanges between the EPO and the Na tional Offices, installation and required 
training for EPO-SCAN was performed in March in Viet Nam, Indonesia and the Philippines. 
• ASEAN regional workshop on patent search a nd examination in the field of mechanics 
organized in Malaysia. The EPO together with the IPCM has been organizing this seminar in the last years to train patent examiners of the region on how to examine patent applications on specific subjects a ccording to the European standards.  
• Seminar on examination in India. Jointly organized with the IIPS&P and the 
Technology Information and Assessment  Council (Ministry of Science and 
Technology) addressed mainly to representa tives of the Indian pharma industry and 
patent attorneys, the seminar exposed the European patent grant procedure 
(examination and appeal).  
• Access and use of Inpadoc Databases in Viet Nam.  The NOIP has been granted special 
access to this EPO world patent database c ontaining patent families and legal status 
data. The activity included technical conn ection and the corresponding training to use 
the database. 
 
• The EPO organized a visit for the delegation of the Republic of Korea, headed by the 
Director of the Biotechnology Department at the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO). 
   IP/C/W/426/Add.5/Suppl.1 
 Page 25 
 
 
C. LATIN AMERICA  
The main cooperation partners of the EPO in the Latin American region are the Spanish 
Patent and Trademark Office (OEPM) and the Worl d Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).  
Apart from many expert missions and visits that  are jointly organized with these partners, three 
important trilateral activities must be highlighted: 
•               Annual Seminar for Latin American Judg es and Public Prosecutors (EPO-OEPM-
WIPO).  This seminar brings together 19 Latin American judges, who attend talks on 
IPR issues.  The third Seminar will take place in La Antigua, Guatemala in October 2004. 
 
•
               LATIPAT project.  The Technical Cooperation Project aimed at supporting the 
Industrial Property Offices of Latin America with the electronic publication of patent information (LATIPAT), is a joint project which was set up by the European Patent 
Office, OEPM and WIPO in 2002.  The aim is  to make bibliographic data of patent 
documents published in each and every one of  the countries of Latin America available 
to the general public worldwide, through the Internet with esp@cenet technology. 
 
•
              Technical cooperation project for Centra l American countries and the Dominican 
Republic to be jointly implemented by WI PO/EPO/OEPM.  The next activity of this 
project is foreseen for the end of 2004 and will consist of the elaboration of a common 
Examination Guidelines for the region. 
  
1. Main activities by regions 
The most important activity in the region is the traditional Latin American Encounter on 
Patents, ELDIPAT.  The first ELDIPAT conference took place in the year 2000 in Mexico, and was 
conceived to discuss dissemination of patent informa tion.  However, the event has developed over the 
years into its present form which, while it has not totally moved away from its original theme of the 
dissemination of technological information, is now  placing greater emphasis on issues which are of 
vital importance in the current climate, such as th e promotion of innovation and the management of 
industrial property assets belonging to companies and universities.  The Fifth Latin American 
Encounter took place in Lima, Peru, from 25 to 28 Ma y 2004.  The event began with a meeting of 
Heads of Latin American Patent Offices (25 a nd 26 May) followed by a conference on patent 
information and promotion of innovation (27 and 28 May) which was open to the public.  The Sixth 
Latin American Encounter on Patents, ELDI PAT 2005, will take place in El Salvador. 
Mexico:  This year's cooperation programme with th e Mexican Institute of Industrial Property 
(IMPI) is again the most ambitious by far in the regi on.  This is mainly due to the results and success 
normally achieved with the activities organized with th e IMPI and the fact that most of the activities 
are co-financed by the Mexicans.  The IMPI is an ideal institution to develop new cooperation 
projects that can be later applied in other countri es.  The cooperation with the Mexican Institute of 
Industrial Property (IMPI) has given excellent results  in the last years, showing a great deal of 
commitment with all the action plans implemen ted.  A cooperation programme for 2004 has been 
prepared and is being implemented according to  the Third Memorandum of  Understanding signed on 
22 August 2003.  This includes cooperation regardi ng the creation of a unit responsible for training 
IMPI personnel in the area of patents, harmoni sation and quality assurance of the patent grant 
procedure. IP/C/W/426/Add.5/Suppl.1 
Page 26  
 
MERCOSUR countries:
 One of the main objectives for 2004 will be to foster relations with 
important countries of MERCOSUR which were not very active last year due to the political and economic situation, such as Brazil ( no permanent President of INPI) a nd Argentina (economic crisis).  
The EPO contributed to the digitalisation of the Ar gentinean Institute by means of installing Eposcan 
in February 2004. 
Regarding Brazil, a fact-finding visit is forese en to the Instituto Nacional da Propriedade 
Industrial (INPI) to discuss cooperation activities, including the organization of a second Seminar on 
Biotechnology, Automation (Brazil is interested in  EPOQUE, epoline) and training (INPI is going to 
employ 50 new examiners and needs a comprehensive training programme). 
Andean Community:
 The countries of the Andean Community have developed common IP 
legislation although administered individually by na tional governments.  Like in Central America, a 
regional approach to this region is needed.  An important success of a regional approach with the 
Andean Community has been achie ved with the elaboration of the Examination Guidelines for the 
region, a project carried out jointly by the EPO a nd WIPO.  Based on this success, it is foreseen to 
draft similar Examination Guidelines for the region of Central America. 
Central America:  Important contacts have been initiate d with Central America in 2003.  The 
EPO signed a Memorandum of Unde rstanding on bilateral cooperation with the National Center of 
Registries (CNR) of El Salvador on December 2003.   The CNR could be considered as a "pilot" 
project for Central American countries.  It is fo reseen to organize a seminar addressed to heads of 
patent sections of Central American offices regard ing the advantages of making extensive use of EPO 
examination results or that some countries in the region could do the search and examination work for 
other offices with no examination capacity in some speci fic technical fields.  There is a great interest 
in the region in harmonisation on a regional basis a nd the development of the patent system in the 
region.  A document with guidelines for a technical cooperation project for Central American countries and the Dominican Republic has been elaborated to be jointly implemented by 
WIPO/EPO/OEPM.  The next activity of this project  is foreseen for the end of 2004 and will consist 
of the elaboration of common Examin ation Guidelines for the region. 
D. A
FRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST 
Our main cooperation partners in sub-Saharan Africa are the Re public of South Africa and the 
two regional Organizations:  ARIPO (mainly for English speaking countries) and OAPI (mainly for 
French speaking countries).  In the Arab world we have established cooperation frameworks with 
Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria and the Patent Office of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and 
have started activities also in the Middle East, in  particular with Jordan, Syria and Lebanon (cf.  
http://pame.european-patent-office.org/ ). 
Our strategy can be summarized as follows:  
•               Develop integrated and realistic concepts  for improving the institutional and operative 
capacities necessary for the func tioning of a small or medium - scale IP office and 
elaborate specific tools and methods for their set-up  
•              Link the assistance programmes in the IP R field for each country/region with 
programmes for the general economic  and industrial development  
•              Promote cooperation and synergies within a nd between the sub-regions; preferably use 
the "south-to-south approach" for transfer of know-how   IP/C/W/426/Add.5/Suppl.1 
 Page 27 
 
 
•              Make patent information readily available to the offices and the public; develop new 
tools and support the establishment of training centres in the region, particularly in the field of patent information retrieval and evaluation
 
•              Adapt the projects aimed at modernising administrative structures and human resources 
development to the above-mentioned concepts  
•              Seek for coordination of all relevant part ners, in particular our member states, 
beginning with a number of key countries and projects.  
1.               Modernisation projects 
The main criteria for the modernisation projects carried out or mainly supported by the EPO, 
in particular in the IT field, in the region is that they should:  
•             Improve significantly the administ rative capacities of the IP offices;  
•             Help the offices deliver enhanced and new services to the public;  
•             Empower the IP offices to control, maintain  and further adapt their systems (full  know-
how transfer).  
Examples of recent such projects are given below:  
(a) Electronic data capturing 
Two major projects for electronic data capturing (scanning, indexing of documentation) have 
been carried out by OMPIC (Morocco) and ARIPO with significant support from the EPO (hardware, 
software, training).  During these projects, full know-how transfer took place, thus enabling OMPIC 
and ARIPO to assume themselves the production of the front file.  The project in ARIPO will be 
continued with capturing data of its member states. 
Data capturing projects are already running in Tunisia and Algeria, where the EPO has 
delivered the apparatuses, the software and the necessary know-how.  In 2004 similar projects have 
started in Egypt (with the ASRT and the EgPO) and South Africa (CIPRO). 
Regarding OAPI data, in 2004 a project will be carried out to enable OAPI to produce the 
front file.  The patent data of OAPI is curren tly captured by the EPO and a CD-ROM is produced. 
(b) Electronic publication, esp@cenet® 
The successful accomplishment of the above men tioned data capturing projects will make it 
possible to make most African patent data el ectronically available to the public by 2005. 
The integration of Morocco, OAPI and South A frica into esp@cenet® is already planned.  
Further, a common entry for African patent data could be envisaged (esp@cenet-Africa). 
(c) Administering systems 
A fully automated system for administering the procedures, based on the POLite methodology 
of the EPO, has been developed and is fully operationa l at ARIPO.  Several countries are interested in 
the SOPRANO system and the EPO expertise in key fields of IT (in particular e-filing, e-payment and network security).  For this reason, PAME has proposed to the EPO International Academy to IP/C/W/426/Add.5/Suppl.1 
Page 28  
 
organize specialized seminars in our member states (in Greece in 2003, in Portugal in 2004), since the 
scale and experience of their IP offices ar e closer to the ones of our partners. 
Furthermore, our partners are regularly seeking the expertise of the EPO to evaluate the 
efficiency and security of their systems.  For th is purpose, several EPO expert missions have taken 
place to Morocco, South Africa, Egypt and OAPI.  Another joint EPO-INPI mission is planned for 
OAPI in 2004. 
2. The Public Events: Fora, Conferences, Seminars 
The most important event is the EPO Regiona l Forum on Industrial Property for Africa and 
the Middle East (Casablanca in 2001, Johannesburg in  2003, Dakar in 2005).  In parallel, we organize 
conferences for the Arab region: October 2002 in Beir ut and June 2004 in Cairo.  The proceedings of 
the Johannesburg Forum and material for the Cairo Conference can be seen under 
http://pame.european-patent-office.org/pubs/.  In ad dition to that, PAME regularly organizes roving 
seminars and regional conferences in the ARIPO region (the latter in cooperation with the UK PTO) 
as well as roving seminars and awareness events for universities in South Africa (in cooperation with OHIM).  Since 2004, we have started similar activi ties in the OAPI region (with INPI France) and 
also, in cooperation with INPI Portugal, in the Lus ophone countries of Africa.  Finally, we contribute 
also to seminars organized by WIPO on topics like PCT, classification training, etc.    E. T
HE COMMONWEALTH OF INDEPENDENT STATES AND MONGOLIA - ICON  PROJECT  
1. Summary of bilateral events for 2004  
The region of CIS and Mongolia includes 13 count ries each served by a national IP office.  
The regional Eurasian Patent Organisation based in  Moscow also acts for nine of these countries in 
granting patent rights.  There is a movement initiated by Ukraine to establish a regional trademark organization for the area, to date this idea h as found little support.  In IP spheres the end of 
2003/beginning of 2004 has been difficult and many ch anges have been effected.  Dr Grigoriev was 
appointed President of the Eurasian Patent Office in  February this year, following the sudden death of 
his popular predecessor Professor Blinnikov. 
The Director General of the National Centre for IP in Belarus, Dr Kudashov and the Director 
of the National Centre for IP in Tajikistan, Dr Takhirov, both of whom have long and valuable 
experience in IP spheres, were re moved from office at the beginning of this year.  Following the re-
election of Mr Putin in Russia, a wide-scale r estructuring and reorganization of government 
institutions was initiated.  Rospatent, the Russian IP body, has not escaped this revisionary activity:  
its responsibilities, tasks and structure are still under going reconsideration and redesign.  The Director 
General of Rospatent has been replaced and it is exp ected that further experienced staff of the agency 
will also be lost. 
2. Main activities of 2003 
In 2003, the EPO continued to support nationa l and regional offices in the development of 
personnel skills by offering seminars at the EPO In ternational Academy, by organizing local language 
courses and by sending industrial property literature and patent documentation. 
During the first half of the year, Automation working groups with Rospatent and with EAPO 
were held in The Hague to discuss matters rela ting to joint projects and their implementation. 
A CIS regional seminar was held in Belarus on approaches to dispute resolution in IP 
essentially for staff of patent offices, judges of court of arbitration and Belarus IP court, Ministry 
representatives and visiting CIS judges.  IP/C/W/426/Add.5/Suppl.1 
 Page 29 
 
 
In March, a high level delegation from Azerba ijan visited The Hague for a study visit. 
The EPO was represented at important national events and seminars in Azerbaijan and 
Kyrgyzstan, the meeting of Interstate Council of CIS on industrial property matters and as observers 
at EAPO Administrative Council meetings and Automation and IT Working Group. 
On 14th July, Dr Kober received Dr Korchagin, the Director General of Rospatent, and his 
delegation in The Hague for discussions and th e signature of Agreed Minutes on cooperation 
activities. 
A regional seminar on Patents and the 21st Centur y was held in cooperation with EAPO in St 
Petersburg for all CIS and Mongolia representatives in September. 
Train the trainer workshops for national office staff, both at beginner and advanced levels, 
were held to develop and improve  presentation and information skills  of staff who are working at a 
local/national level to increase IP awareness. 
2003 closed with an important meeting in Munich for Heads of IP Offices of the CIS and 
Mongolia region, to discuss main aspects of patent administration, grant and protection, new methods 
and developments and future strategies. 
On 23 December, the EPO-EC project for Ukraine was signed. 
3. Events of 2004 
The EPO was represented at meetings of the Eurasian Administrative Council in Moscow, the 
Interstate Council for CIS on Industrial Property in Kyrgyzstan and the EAPO Working Group on IT that took place in Tajikistan. 
In February, a small working group on electronic filing met in Moscow to discuss the possible 
development of an e-filing system with EAPO.  In March, the newly elected President of EAPO, 
Dr Grigoriev, visited Munich for discussions with  Dr Kober and Professor Po mpidou on cooperation 
activities. 
A study visit from the industrial property centr e of Mongolia took place in April with much 
success. 
A seminar on patent information databases and examination issues was held for a national 
audience in Moldova in cooperation with the nationa l agency for industrial property protection (June). 
In July, the EPO will receive a high level de legation from Tajikistan including members of 
the parliament and top academics. 
Heads of IP offices from CIS and the Mongolia region will attend inte nsive English language 
training in April and August of this year. 
The EPO will be represented at the Ukrainian annua l IP event held in Aloushta in September. 
Uzbekistan will be the host to a workshop on asp ects of patent examination to be held in 
Tashkent in October.  A workshop on aspects of enforcement and specific cases will be held in 
Georgia later the same month. 
Train the trainer workshops, a repeat of the 2003 event for different CIS offices, is planned 
for October and November. IP/C/W/426/Add.5/Suppl.1 
Page 30  
 
In the last quarter of 2004, an information and technical working group will be arranges for 
EAPO and Rospatent delegations in The Hague. 
There will be an EAPO Administrative Council meeting in November or December in 
Moscow. 
4. Future plans 
The medium to long term aim is:
 
•              to assist national offices in promoting awareness of IP, its uses and value to small and 
medium enterprises, through awareness progr ammes, publications, skills development, 
seminars; local events and internet  
•               to assist in the development of national offi ce staff skills and to keep IP Offices up to 
date with new developments a nd changes in the patents arena  
•              to share information on European court enfo rcement procedures and to support national 
offices and courts in developing  the national handling of IP cases  
•               to assist IP offices in maintaining and developing documentation  
•              to assist the development of national offi ces in response to national development and 
changes  
•              specifically to bring offices of the region into  the esp@cenet system and to offer a local 
language interface for searching national data  
•               to assist IP offices in data and informa tion transfer and exchange at high level  
F. C ENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES (INCLUDING OTHER ACCESSION STATES ) 
The primary strategic objectives for cooperation in  this region have always been to prepare 
European countries for integration into the Europ ean Patent Organisation, as well as continuing this 
integration into the European patent system  once accession has been achieved.  Although these 
activities have been directed mainly at countries pr eviously behind the "Iron Curtain", recently they 
have also included other countries interested in ac cession to the European Patent Organisation, such 
as Malta and Iceland.  
In July 1999 the Administrative Council of th e European Patent Organisation invited ten 
Central and Eastern European Countries to accede to  the EPC: Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, 
Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia.  By late 2004 all 
these countries will have joined, which together with Malta and Iceland, will mean that the European 
Patent Organisation will comprise 32 member states.  
This unification and the enlargement of the Eur opean Patent Organisation were well prepared 
in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe.  From the beginning of the 1990s, the EPO has been committed to work closely with the national pate nt offices of this region and has played a 
fundamental role in integrating and harmonising th e legal and institutional infrastructures of these 
countries into the mainstream IP structures of Eu rope.  From 1993 to 2001, the European Commission 
and the European Patent Office conducted joint prog rammes, notably the Regional Industrial Property 
Programme (RIPP), in the region, investing together more than €15 million with the aim of improving 
not only the work of the national industrial property offices in the region, but also of developing all 
aspects of IP protection in the national systems.
  IP/C/W/426/Add.5/Suppl.1 
 Page 31 
 
 
A similar regional programme to this was la unched late in 2003 for the countries of the 
Western Balkans.  The new programme, within the framework of the European Union's "Community 
Assistance for Reconstruction, Development and Stabilisation" (CARDS), will involve Albania, 
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Former Y ugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and Serbia and 
Montenegro.  Its primary aims are to support the economic development of th e five CARDS countries 
through effective and adequate protection and enforcement of i ndustrial and intellectual property 
rights in line with the requirements of the European  Union's Stabilisation and Association Agreements 
and of the World Trade Organization.  
In preparing for full membership of the Europ ean Patent Organisation, Extension Agreements 
signed with Albania, Croatia and the Former Yugos lav Republic of Macedonia, mean that European 
patents may now also be validated in these c ountries.  Bosnia & Herzegovina and Serbia & 
Montenegro have signed Agreements, in Decemb er 2003 and November 2001 respectively, however, 
both still require parliamentary ratification.  It  is still hoped that both countries will ratify the 
Agreements later this year.  
III. HORIZONTAL UNITS 
A. INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY  
1. General presentation of the International Academy 
Since 1997, the EPO International Academy (IA) ac ts as service provider for external training 
within the framework of the EPO international tec hnical cooperation.  It also implements training 
activities funded by the European Commission or the World Bank.  Given the broad range of issues 
addressed, covering the legislative, managerial, t echnical, administrative aspects and enforcement of 
IPRs, the International Academy has built over the years a network of partners including national 
offices of the member states, WIPO, OHIM, CEIPI, European Patent Institute (epi), universities, 
research institutes, industrialists and patent practitio ners.  Training is provided in one of the EPO's 
official languages.  
2. Presentation of the 2004 training events  
The Academy continued to provide vocational tr aining to staff of member states' national 
offices in the framework of CA/49/03 rev.1 and CA/ 87/01.  Up to the end of June 2004, some 643 
requests for professional training have been express ed by the national offices of the new member 
states for the whole year.  So far, 124 staff of me mber states' national offices already participated in 
IA training courses.  
As a consequence, the Academy redesigned its a nnual training programme in order to be able 
to better meet the needs of the various target groups .  27 training events have been scheduled for this 
year.  Four out of them have been exclusively d esigned for staff of member states' national offices:  
A seminar on the opposition procedure before the EPO  
•              A workshop on communication and public rela tions management (in cooperation with 
the 15th PR roundtable)  
•              An inside view for new and future member states with a focus on IP training 
(postponed to 15 -18 November, in order to take into acc ount recent developments at 
the EPO, CA/64/04 rev.1 ), and  
•               A roving seminar for European patent attorn eys in which Bulgaria, Romania, Poland 
and Turkey expressed interest.  IP/C/W/426/Add.5/Suppl.1 
Page 32  
 
Other training events address topics such as: the EP system, enforcement of IP, search and 
examination of European patent applications for various target groups, administrative issues, appeal 
procedures, IT aspects for IP offices, etc.  Two training courses, exclusively designed for non-member states, will be implemented jointly with the WIPO Worldwide Academy.
 
The Academy also initiated a broad consulta tion process regarding an Innovation Support 
Training Programme at national offices of the contracti ng states to the Organisation.  It is intended to 
respond to the lack of experts involved in rais ing patent awareness and to support the innovation 
processes at national level.  
A public symposium on patents in the food industry (28-29 June) was combined with a 
workshop on search and examination in biotechnology .  Both events have been implemented jointly 
with the Italian Patent and Trademark Office in Verona, Italy.  
The seminar on Innovation Suppor t for SMEs, will be jointly organized with the Estonian 
national office in Tallinn from 20 - 24 September.  Tw o days of the event will be open to the public.  
A seminar on economic aspects of patent protection w ill be held jointly with the Slovenian IP office 
from 6 - 8 October.  The event, too, will be public  and is intended to be implemented either in 
Ljubljana or Maribor.  
An international symposium on nanotechnology a nd patenting will take place in The Hague 
on 9 and 10 November 2004.  Partners are the Europ ean Patent Institute (epi), the Technology Center 
Physical Technologies of the German Association of Engineers (VDI-TZ) and the Licensing Executives Society (L.E.S.).
 
The Academy also launched its new website as a tool to intensify communication with the 
national offices as well as the general public.  A pilot project for online-registration is currently being 
carried out and is delivering promising results.  
Several proceedings of traini ng events have been published:  
• International Forum on the PCT Procedure: Recent Changes"  
• "IP Issues for Government Officials and Information Administrators"  
• "The European Patent System.  Focus 2003: Research and Development"  
• "Managing IP Rights in a Knowledge-Based Society.  IP Teaching and Training 
Materials"  
All of them are available on request.  
For further details please refer to th e IA annual programme available at: 
http://academy.epo.org  
3. Preliminary discussion of draft Programme for 2005 
Training for staff of member states shall fo cus on all interfacing processes between the EPO 
and the member states' offices and all phases of the Eu ropean Patent granting procedure.  As already 
initiated last year, active involvement of the member states in the planning of training events and the 
provision of particular experience is highly welcome.   IP/C/W/426/Add.5/Suppl.1 
 Page 33 
 
 
The unanimous decision taken by the Administ rative Council in its session of June 2004 in 
favour of the establishment of a European Patent Acad emy will lead to an EPO internal review of the 
situation.  
A proposal for next year's programme indicating possible events and asking for additional 
proposals will be sent to the national offices of the member states in summer, so that programming 
can start at an early stage this year.  
B. AUTOMATION  
Version 1 of the new Soprano software - th e successor to the well-known Common Software - 
has been accepted, and is now in  the process of being installed a nd accepted for production use in the 
pilot National Office - Luxembourg.  It is now expected that, as soon as practically possible, those 
National Offices using the old Common Software will migrate to the new Soprano Software for their 
patent, and eventually trademark, procedural admi nistration.  The management of the maintenance, 
development and implemen tation of the Soprano software has now been transferred to Principal 
Directorate IS.  Henceforth, the Automation Unit will act more generally as a co-ordinator of 
Directorate 5.1.1 demands in the context of technical assistance and support from other EPO 
departments, particularly but not exclusively TecNO.  Document scanning equipment has been 
procured and installed at both the South African and Egyptian Patent Offices.  Following training for 
its use in conjunction with the EPOSCAN software , and the finalisation of local organizational 
arrangements, both these offices will scan both the front  and back-files of their patent documentation, 
which will eventually be made available to the EPO.  IP/C/W/426/Add.5/Suppl.1 
Page 34  
 
ANNEX 
Planning of Technical Cooperation Activities in 2004 
Art. 3310 – Technical Cooperation with Non-Contracting States 
  
Unit  Main Activities  Planned 
2003 
(in EUR 
'000)  Executed 
2003 
(in EUR 
'000)  Planned 
2004 
(in EUR 
'000)  Budget 
2004 
(in EUR 
'000)  
              
Peco  Training  35 89 16 0
  Automation  55 40 155 0
    Divers 0 2 0 0
    Mission 0 0 0 0
    Telecommunication 10 0 0 0
    CS Installation 45 24 145 0
    ESP@CENET 0 14 10 0
  Others  210 218 109 0
    Accession Actions 0 0 0 0
    Patent Information 30 29 21 0
    Seminars and Events 120 71 64 0
    Literature 20 0 5 0
    EPO/member states Ex. 25 52 14 0
    Programme Poland 0 62 0 0
    Equipment Procurement 15 4 5 0
    Miscellaneous 0 0 0 0
    Total 300 347 280 280
    Budget 2003 300       
              
China  Training  187 94 188 0
  Automation  30 30 0
  Others  155 98 227 0
    Expert Missions 34 39 34 0
    Meetings 38 18 49 0
    Patent Information 7 4 8 0
    Study Visits 60 9 69 0
    Costs for Macau 2 2 5 0
    Costs for Chinese Taipei 11 0 19 0
    Costs for Hong Kong 2 1 14 0
    Miscellaneous 1 25 29 0
    Total 345 192 445 445
    Budget 2003 345       
              
Latin America  Training  175 143 175 0
  Automation  50 34 40 0
    ESP@CENET 0 0 0 0
    Jouve Scan 0 0 0 0
    Miscellaneous 50 34 40 0
    Investments CS 0 0 0 0
  Others  325 216 315 0
    Andean Community 20 1 20 0
    Argentina 10 17 5 0
    Brazil 25 7 25 0
    Chile 10 0 6 0
    Central American Countries 10 5 25 0
    Database Subscription 15 16 14 0
    Electronic Publication 40 18 0 0
    ELDIPAT 50 44 60 0  IP/C/W/426/Add.5/Suppl.1 
 Page 35 
 
 
Unit  Main Activities  Planned 
2003 
(in EUR 
'000)  Executed 
2003 
(in EUR 
'000)  Planned 
2004 
(in EUR 
'000)  Budget 
2004 
(in EUR 
'000)  
    Mexico 50 24 50 0
    Spanish Patent Office 20 17 20 0
    Events with WIPO 30 43 50 0
    Miscellaneous 45 24 40 0
    Total 550 393 530 530
    Budget 2003 550       
              
ICON  Training  120 129 100 0
  Automation  30 0 0
  Others  377 343 380 0
    Seminars/Symposia 140 144 80 0
    Awareness Actions 13 0 20 0
    Language Courses 42 27 25 0
    Residential Courses 0 0 43 0
    Literature & Periodicals 32 35 37 0
    CD-ROM Orders 22 17 16 0
    CD-ROM Production 7 7 0 0
    EPO/member states Ex. 9 7 17 0
    Hardware 60 20 30 0
    Missions of 523 Staff 18 43 23 0
    Database and Online 0 0 0 0
    Study Visits to EPO 30 22 86 0
    Internet for Kazakhstan 3 3 2 0
    Miscellaneous 1 18 1 0
    Total 500 472 480 480
    Budget 2003 500       
              
Asia  Training  88 75 140 0
(Except China) Automation  00 0 0
  Others  367 287 277 0
    Expert Missions 84 88 0 0
    Miscellaneous 1 0 2 0
    Events 192 122 0 0
    Electronic Publication 90 77 85 0
    WIPO 0 0 5 0
    Cambodia 0 0 5 0
    India 0 0 15 0
    Indonesia 0 0 5 0
    Korea 0 0 15 0
    Laos 0 0 5 0
    Malaysia 0 0 10 0
    Philippines 0 0 5 0
    Singapore/Brunei 0 0 15 0
    Thailand 0 0 5 0
    Viet Nam 0 0 10 0
    ASEAN/Regional Activities 0 0 95 0
    Total 455 362 417 405
    Budget 2003 455       
              
Arab/African  Training  130 131 117 0
Countries  Automation  65 65 90 0
    Common Software - POLITE 0 18 5 0
    Scanning/Indexing 0 14 50 0
    EPO/member states Ex. 0 23 23 0
    Miscellaneous 65 10 12 0IP/C/W/426/Add.5/Suppl.1 
Page 36  
 
Unit  Main Activities  Planned 
2003 
(in EUR 
'000)  Executed 
2003 
(in EUR 
'000)  Planned 
2004 
(in EUR 
'000)  Budget 
2004 
(in EUR 
'000)  
  Others  285 299 303 0
    Studies, external ex. 0 0 0 0
    Patent Information 31 33 32 0
    Manager Missions 55 108 82 0
    WIPO 37 12 13 0
    Seminars & Training 60 78 110 0
    Conferences 80 36 40 0
    Miscellaneous 22 32 26 0
    Total 480 495 510 510
    Budget 2003 480       
              
Gen. Activities  Training  270 240 270 270
    General - coord., missions 60 51 270 0
    Materials 80 57 0 0
    Activities 130 132 0 0
    Distance learning 0 0 0 0
    Flyers, Publications 0 0 0 0
    Global Trainee Insurance 0 0 0 0
    Material 0 0 0 0
    Operating Expenses 0 0 0 0
    Prior year related costs 0 0 0 0
    Academy Publications 0 0 0 0
    General Organization Costs 0 0 0 0
    WIPO 0 0 0 0
    Miscellaneous 0 0 0 0
Gen. Activities  Automation  500 414 430 430
    Maintenance activities 80 64 32 0
    New Functionality Dev. 60 48 208 0
    CS Java 300 178 140 0
    POLite toolbox development 40 0 0 0
    Miscellaneous 20 124 50 0
Misc. Department Expenses  30 27 30 30
    Total 800 681 730 730
    Budget 2003 800       
             
Totals on Article 3310          
    Planning 3.430 2.942 3.392    
    Budget 3.430     3.380
  
  
__________